Ubuntu Linux 9.10 (Karmic Koala)
Networking, Sound and Multimedia
When I booted into my Ubuntu Linux 9.10 desktop, I heard the Ubuntu theme play. So sound worked fine right from the start. No need to fiddle with any settings to get it working. Ditto with networking.
However, when I went to play a YouTube video I found that Flash wasn’t installed. I pulled up the Ubuntu Software Center, typed in the word “flash” into the search box and up came a list of goodies to install on my system. The first thing on the list was Ubuntu Restricted Extras. Wow, with a name like that I just HAD to install it and I did!
The Ubuntu Restricted Extras pulls in support for the following:
MP3 playback and decoding
Support for other audio formats (GStreamer plugins)
Microsoft fonts
Java runtime environment
Flash plugin
LAME (to create compressed audio files)
DVD playback
Note that, according to the notes included with it, Ubuntu Restricted Extras does not include libDVDcss2 and thus will not allow you to play encrypted DVDs. Not that it really matters since it doesn’t take a freaking genius to do a Google search to find the information and install it.
Downloading the Ubuntu Restricted Extras seemed to take quite a while. I’m not sure what the problem was, maybe the server was just slow? But they say that good things come to those who wait. So I waited…and waited…and waited…
Finally the download finished and I closed Firefox then restarted it. I pulled up Youtube and the video & sound worked perfectly.
Playing YouTube videos requires the install of Flash.
What I Liked Most
Without a doubt one of my favorite features is the Ubuntu Software Center. I like the layout, navigation and selection of software in the Software Center. It’s a great addition to Ubuntu and a good reason to upgrade.
Another thing I liked was the login manager which strikes me as more attractive and functional than the one I remember using before.
Ubuntu One is also very cool. Hey, who doesn’t want 2GB of free online backup storage that can be shared with other Ubuntu One users right? All I had to do to get started using it was to click the Applications menu then go to Ubuntu One. After that I signed up and then I was good to go. Well almost good to go, see the problems section for more details.
Problems & Headaches
After I signed up for Ubuntu One, I got a blank page and an “Internal Server Error” message. I reloaded the page and got a message that my computer now had access and that I could add it to my Ubuntu One account and then sync.
I tried to upload an HTML file to Ubuntu One from my Ubuntu system via Firefox and got a Page Not Found (404) error message. I tried it again and got an “Internal Server Error” message.
I also signed into Ubuntu One via Firefox on one of my Macs using Mac OS X and tried to upload a TIFF file. I got the same internal server error message.
So it seems that Ubuntu One has some bugs that need to be worked out. I love the idea though and I hope they get these problems fixed soon and that the system proves to be stable for users. It’s sort of like MobileMe for Linux users (minus the Apple tax).
Ubuntu One aside, I didn’t have any other problems with Ubuntu Linux 9.10.
I had some problems signing up for Ubuntu One and uploading files.
(31 votes, average: 4.10 out of 5)
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(4.75 out of 5)
It’s about damned time you reviewed a “real” distro! :)
But seriously, the one thing I would add regarding alternate desktops is that there is no need to download another entire distro. Many, if not all, of the alternate desktops can be downloaded via the Synaptic package manager. Just type in the name, LXDE, XFCE, KDE, etc., and just select the metapackage. Synaptic will take care of the rest. You can then select the alternate desktop at the login screen. This way, you have the original Ubuntu intact, and can try out other desktops to your hearts content. This may also be doable in the new Software Center, but I have not tried it.
Another alternative is the Ubuntu Mini ISO. This is a ~12mb ISO file that installs a minimal, base command line system. You can then use the “apt-get install” command to totally customize the packages. I am currently using this in Virtual Box to build a base Ubuntu system with only LXDE as my desktop of choice. I did notice in another instance, that installing desktops this way gets you the standard product as opposed to the Ubuntu customized version. All seem to run just as well. The end result is that you get a much smaller distro with only the packages you want.
My next step will be figuring out how to remaster this into an ISO to make my own custom distro! I was thinking of naming it tlmbuntu, although that may be some sort of curse word in the Bantu language. I will have to check it out. :)
Forgot to mention that for Windows users, I highly recommend the Wubi install method. Just pop in the Ubuntu LiveCD while running Windows and choose the Wubi installer. This will install Ubuntu as just another Windows application. You then reboot the machine and select Ubuntu from the boot menu. This is a good way to test it out to see if it will run on your actual hardware. If you decide you do not like it, you can reboot into Windows and just uninstall. Works equally well in XP, Vista, and Windows 7.
For those who run legacy DOS programs, be aware that dosemu crashes with a segfault from time to time on 9.10. This can be disastrous for those who require stability for their DOS-based business programs.
I’ve been using Ubuntu 9.10 from its alpha stages and the final Release candidate has made good progress from the Alpha software.
Traditionally Ubuntu has been a very “mellowed down” distro compared to the others out there(mind you, there are 100′s of them). So you are not going to find anything very jazzy from Ubuntu. Instead, what you get is a rock-solid, reliable OS.
I always keep a copy of Ubuntu as my main OS. I try out every new distro that is released, but I still haven’t found something that can reliably replace my Ubuntu.
Everything about Ubuntu speaks of “simplicity and ease of use”, right from the software installation, software availability, look and feel. This helps Ubuntu to cater to a larger audience, and it does that very well.
I dont think Ubuntu is going to take the Market by storm with Ubuntu 9.10, especially now with Winows 7 release. But if at all Linux has the potential to challenge Microsoft, then it has to be Ubuntu. No other distro/OS caters to everyone’s needs.
Because at the end of the day, the user needs an OS that “just works”. He doesn’t care if it is Open source or not, even if he has to shell out money for it. So Ubuntu should start benchmarking itself to Windows rather than the other distros.
I’m sure Ubuntu will slowly, but gradually take a bigger share in the OS market. And 9.10 delivers another solid release with good number of awesome enhancements.
Most of the new features are “under the hood”, but it enhances on the overall end-user experience from Jaunty.
Keep up the good work Canonical!!!
Thanks for the look, Jim! I passed on 9.04 because 8.10 has worked so well that I did not care to fool with it. 9.10 sounds as though it might be worth a place on my drive.
Making “restricted extras” easier to install will be much appreciated by new users. What is needed now for people is a similar “one button” install for those DVD codecs. Click here, have your credit card ready, pay the fee and install. That complies with American intellectual property/copy-right law and it would be easy. I doubt most people are going to complain about a reasonable fee.
Like Roshan Pius I enjoy looking at and using other distributions, but Ubuntu remains as the “go to” system when I simply need to get some work done.
And let me add that tlmck is right; wubi works like a charm.
I downloaded and tried out the release candidate about a week ago and it is looking pretty good. I had also tried a number of base levels during the Alpha testing phase. The release has come along steadily.
For me, being one who prefers environments other than GNOME, I usually try out Xubuntu and Kubuntu. For my most recent test, I simply took Kubuntu and ran an update from the command line with the -d option, which allows you to upgrade to the next release. The repos were slow, but it worked quite well and it was usable right away.
While I prefer the more stock Debian based systems, the only difficulties I ever run into with the Ubuntu variations are intermittent issues with Network Manager, so I generally replace it with wicd, and I also have problems with the time server, NTP. I frequently end up removing and reinstalling it, which usually gets things back on track.
The request a review link seems to be broken. sidux 2009-03 Preview is now available, so in about two weeks, sidux 2009-03 should be coming out. I’d like to see a review again and see how you think it stacks up against 2009-02 and other distros.
It should have KDE 4.3.2 and XFCE 4.6.1 available, the option to use either ext3 or ext4 file systems, and the ability to use the new GRUB 2 boot menu, plus it has the latest Linux 2.6.31 kernel for additional new device support.
The release is being called “momos” in the English form (it has some “special characters” in the European name form). If you review it, maybe you can tell us something about the names of the four quarterly releases this year! :-)
I believe that this is the best release of Ubuntu so far. I’ve been using Ubuntu since 5.10. The Network Manager has been fixed now so there is no reason to replace it with wicd. As far as server speed goes I find the main server speed to be fair while the US servers are somewhat slow. I’m not sure why. Grub 2 may give some new users a few problems but it’s not really hard to learn. All in all a fine distro and good review.
Tried the RC but it threw the infamous Error 5 at me but I’ll try again with the final release.
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